Edge came out. It was Mathews, Lawler and Ross on commentary. Edge told the fans to bear with him, since he may end up rambling and not making sense. He said some think the WWE may not hurt, but anyone who has stepped in the ring knows that’s not the case. Edge said that eight years ago, he broke his neck and because of that, he knew he was wrestling (he said it!) on borrowed time. He said the last little while, he’s been in a lot of pain and has been losing feeling in his arms. He said he passed strength tests and everything, but after ‘Mania WWE wanted him to get more tests. He said that it’s good that he did, since he had an MRI and now needs to retire. Edge said they found out, and now he won’t end up in a wheelchair. Crowd applauded and cheered to show their respect. “Thank You Edge” chants. Edge said this week has been an emotional roller coaster for him, until he talked to Christian, who has been his best friend for 27 years. He said he felt like he was letting friends and fans down, and himself as well since he wasn’t able to leave on his terms.

He said like the fans, he’s a huge fan of WWE. Edge said he and Christian used to go to the Maple Leaf Garden and see Legion of Doom, Demolition, Hulk Hogan and others, then went to Wrestlemania VI and saw Hogan vs. Warrior and said, “I’m doing that.” Edge said he wouldn’t have believed anyone if they told him he’d hold more titles than anyone else. And he also wouldn’t believe that he went out successfully defending his title in one of the main events of Wrestlemania (main event?). Edge said he’s been wrestling for WWE for several years, and remembers his first match at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. He talked about his time in a trenchoat, in the Brood, one posing for the benefit of those with flash photography. He talked about being thrown into Long Island Sound. He had a live sex celebration, thankfully with Lita and not Vickie Guerrero. He said through it all, he hopes he earned the respect of everyone in the locker room, and all the fans. He said he gave the fans 100% every night and they gave it right back. Edge said he’d miss it all, but he doesn’t have to wear tights tomorrow and he’s going to eat a whole lot of ice cream tonight. But if you asked him if he’d do it all again, from getting hired by JR, to all the travel, to all the surgeries, he’d do it again in a heartbeat. Edge thanked everyone, then tossed down the mic. Everyone in the crowd stood and applauded.

"For those who are wondering, the Edge retirement speech was 100% legitimate and real. We were told by a company source earlier this evening that when the major announcement was made tonight, it was not an angle and not storyline.

The story that Edge told about medical tests coming back and showing there was a new issue with his neck and being advised he must retire are true. He was basically handed a mic and told to go out and say goodbye however he wanted."- PWInsider

We can all be thankful that Edge got the opportunity to retire while he was able to. It's a sharp contrast to Kurt Angle, who had the same surgery, who will probably keep right on wrestling until his body completely breaks down.

What happens next for SmackDown? I guess this is as good a time as any to pass the main event torch on to Christian.

Edge has been talking about retirement in almost every interview he's given for the last few months, but it always seemed to be a year or two down the road. (Personally, I thought he would've aimed for a possible Wrestlemania 29 in Toronto.) But if this recurrence in his neck injury is legitimate, then it's for the best that he step out of the ring immediately.

It's a shame to see him go, Edge has been a favourite for a long time. Glad to see he's going out both with his health generally intact and, as an added bonus, he goes out as World Champion. That stat about him holding the most titles of any WWE wrestler is pretty wild, and at first glance, I'd guess it's true.

As for the world title, it seems like Christian/Del Rio for the vacant title at Extreme Rules is the obvious choice....well, heck, let's get creative here, Smackdown writers. How about an open, FA Cup-style tournament with the entire roster spanning most of the summer and culminating at Summerslam?

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball

I came home from work ready to hook my laptop back up, and jump into the chat on another board I frequent for the last hour of RAW. It was the beginning of Edge's speech, and I was wondering why he was on RAW and not Smackdown.

By the end of it, I just cracked open a beer, sat down, and watched the rest of the show mutely. This was shocking. Good for Edge on finding out before he ended up another stat on the line of wrestling casualties, but....wow. This triggered a reflection on how old we're all getting, on how yet another generation in the wrestling business is set to turn over, and how sobering life can be sometimes.

I remember the first time I saw Edge on WWF television, it was him and Christian doing a Brood run-in. At the time, I'd weaned myself off of pro wrestling. From some time after Wrestlemania 10, until in high school when a bunch of my friends couldn't stop talking about this guy "Stone Cold Steve Austin", I had stopped watching both the WWF and WCW completely. To see Edge go from that simple, undercard, through-the-card run-in to what he became....it's astonishing, and cause to pause and think.

I have to say the Edge memory that stands out most was the first TLC match. After getting back into wrestling, it was ECW that sucked me in the most. So naturally after following all three companies but with an ECW bent, going into that TLC match I didn't give Edge & Christian a chance in hell of winning. Never made a blip on my radar; I was fully on the Dudley's bandwagon, with the hope of "Just please don't let the Hardy's win". I appreciate the Hardy's talent, but I did and still do loathe Jeff Hardy. But Edge & Christian to me were just the guys left stranded due to Gangrel's sucking (no pun intended).

My brother, also into wrestling, simply called out of the blue that Edge and Christian were winning. I asked him why, and he couldn't give me a reason. Nothing. Just simply, they'll win. And they won. And at the second TLC, once again I backed the Dudley's to retain and he just chose E&C. They won. It kicked off a series of events where he would literally just randomly call things out of the blue, including him correctly predicting...in the moment...both Johnny Damon home runs in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.

So that is what will stick out to me the most concerning Edge's career. Barring that, it would be how stale he felt after his return from injury in 2004 and how, starting with the awesome '05 Rumble, he turned it around as a heel. I was entertained the most by the awesomeness and five-second posing of Edge & Christian, of course, but his winning me back by playing an awesome heel through his HBK feud was the stuff careers are made of.

Looking to the future, I can only hope this proves to be a boon for Christian. That maybe, somehow, Vince's eyes will be open to what Christian can bring to the table now that Edge will be gone. And that we'll see a continuation of the Del Rio feud, all centering around that big gold belt, leaving Christian to keep the legacy of E&C alive into this next decade.

It's strange to actually see these broken neck deals have permanent consequences, since everyone always comes back and just keeps doing their thing. I guess it's a good thing he didn't have that ladder match. He said when he came back in 2004 that he wouldn't do any more TLC matches. He misspoke.

Originally posted by Big BadAs for the world title, it seems like Christian/Del Rio for the vacant title at Extreme Rules is the obvious choice....well, heck, let's get creative here, Smackdown writers. How about an open, FA Cup-style tournament with the entire roster spanning most of the summer and culminating at Summerslam?

I think Christian winning the title and dedicating it to Edge is the only finish. Rey Mysterio title run essentially. Del Rio can win it from Christian from there, but I think Del Rio getting heat by screwing Christian out of the title win he promised to Edge would be kind of tacky. But not inconceivable.

The difference with Lawler is WWE had plans with Cena, and if Cena got hurt, they could've gone to Orton or someone else. SmackDown did really have a lot to work with at the moment, and they have even less now. Lawler winning would've been a cool story. Christian winning is the only story they have to tell at the moment.

There's slightly long term questions - does this mean Triple H will end up wrestling more than he'd probably like? Or maybe Booker T ends up back out of the booth? - but this part is the still the actual important part:

What can I say about Edge. I think he's great. This is weird, sad.

Edge was a guy people generally liked for the early part of his career, but never really go to the type until after everyone generally and intensely disliked him, and then actually won everyone back by being a gloriously despicable man. (Fans are weird.) Edge was the guy hand picked to be a future champion on Day 1, never was actually picked to be champion until they just decided they needed a stunt, and proved they were right about him to start with. Wrestling is strange. Stranger without him.

It's possible they suspected something like this was going to happen, which could be why Christian was been built up and placed within the Edge - Del Rio feud just in case. Vince has been known to change his mind of wrestlers before, and perhaps Edge's endorsement (as well as the pops he's been getting) will help Christian out in the long run.

Either way, kudos to both the WWE and Edge for this. And based on what Edge was saying.....needless to say it certainly will make us look at others who had the spinal fusion surgery differently.

After a (very) long hiatus, I have begun to write again. And this time, I'm not alone!

Originally posted by JustinShapiroIt's strange to actually see these broken neck deals have permanent consequences, since everyone always comes back and just keeps doing their thing.

"WHAT" says Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin.

I'll never forget Edge as lead babyface when they came to Wichita for SD last year. He got to close the show saying thanks to the crowd and all. He said he knew Kansas was Jayhawk country and clearly didn't understand why half the crowd (Kansas State fans) suddenly started booing him. It was an endearing moment. A fine man was he.

Originally posted by El NastioIt's possible they suspected something like this was going to happen, which could be why Christian was been built up and placed within the Edge - Del Rio feud just in case.

Edge did say they were checking on his neck before WrestleMania, so there must've been an idea something was wrong. They let Edge work thru WrestleMania before getting the MRI, so they bet it on the MRI finding something they didn't want to see - but if they believed it was career ending, I think they would've pulled Edge and put in Christian in that match earlier. I'd like to think that of the WWE, anyway.

(Oddly, this means the teases of Christian looking at the belt last SmackDown! was more likely to set up the now current "Christian wins the belt for his friend Edge - and for himself!" then the "Christian turns on Edge, again" storyline we all figured. Though you'd have to work harder to explain Christian losing to ADR, or why that match happened at all if they knew it could be the next PPV main event.)

I'm sure this will come out one way or another soon, but it seems like Edge might have have had a stronger feeling than management that was it. For one, there was that odd backstage skit on the last RAW before WrestleMania where Edge was wearing his old trenchcoat, Christian pointed out Edge was wearing his old trenchcoat, Edge just indicated it was random nostalgia, and it didn't really go anywhere at the time. Except now, that sure looks like the full circle sort of thing you might do if you knew you were likely wrestling your last match ever on RAW (and second to last match ever.)

Originally posted by El NastioAnd based on what Edge was saying.....needless to say it certainly will make us look at others who had the spinal fusion surgery differently.

Didn't Cena get the spinal fusion surgery a few years ago?

Nope, he avoided it. Click Here (weblogs.baltimoresun.com) for some details.

Considering how they handled Angle, I think the WWE is much more serious about career threatening injuries and serious drug abuses. So I'm inclined to agree with you Cubs;

- They probably knew something was up, so they added Christian in a way that makes sense.

- They probably didn't think it was career threatening until after the first MRI.

- Well played on picking up on the black trenchcoat. To add to that; perhaps Edge knew time was running out, so maybe he wanted his last program to be with Christian? And IIRC, his last match with Christian actually being at ringside in his corner?

After a (very) long hiatus, I have begun to write again. And this time, I'm not alone!

Originally posted by It's FalseWe can all be thankful that Edge got the opportunity to retire while he was able to. It's a sharp contrast to Kurt Angle, who had the same surgery, who will probably keep right on wrestling until his body completely breaks down.

Only Angle didn't get the fusion surgery that Edge, Rhyno, and Benoit got. He got some alternative surgery to avoid the fusion, citing losing elasticity would have bad consequences at the time, if I recall. All things considered, that decision appears to have prolonged his career. He's certainly doing better than most of that list. As for completely breaking down, from the looks of things he'll do it with booze before he does it with wrestling.

Shitty timing for Edge. He was really just starting to hit his stride again as a babyface, after it didn't go so well last year. Probably the run with Lita will be my favourite incarnation of him, as I truly believe he was the best heel in the business at that time. It just wasn't the same without Lita (the same as Macho wasn't quite the same without Liz). Still, he won the Royal Rumble, had a good series with Jericho, and got over as a proper face late last year, and delivered three great PPV main events as World Champion, with the defense against Ziggler as a personal favourite of mine.

I guess tomorrow I'll see the silver lining, but given the product quality these days, it sure is sad that a credible guy who could be counted on for a good-to-great match every night is now done. But his health is much, much more important, and hey, we're sharing memories of a wrestler who hasn't died! So that's something.

Originally posted by PaulKTFMake him the mouthpeice manager for one of the younger guys who can't cut a decent promo. I see no reason why he can't have at least another 5 years on TV in a non-wrestling role.

Not a bad idea. Either this or make him a colour commentator.

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball

Just wanted to take a second during the commercial break to let anyone in the US thinking of skipping the match and reading about it later that they'll be missing a hell of a match. This is simply amazing.